Love, Loss, and Senior Year
by DestielDeducingInTheTARDIS
Summary: A High School AU! John Smith is the new kid in school and Rose is his kid sister. Dean and Cas are trying to figure out what's going on. The story of their senior year of high school and maybe beyond. I suck at summaries, read to find out what happens! I love reviews so have at it! If any trigger warnings come up I'll put them at the beginning of the chapters. Rights to BBC and CW.
1. Beginning of the Year

John Smith stood on the sidewalk staring at the intimidating building. Thoughts raced in his head, his heart pounding in his chest as his hands began to sweat. A bell rang and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He was going to be late! Sprinting up the steps two at a time, he made it all the way to the top before tripping over his long and awkward limbs. Pushing his floppy hair out of his eyes and thanking the heavens nobody was around to see him fall, John pushed through the large wooden doors into the unfamiliar and now-empty hallway. A few straggling kids sprinted past looking terrified and John decided they must be freshmen who couldn't find their rooms. He wandered round for a few moments before he stumbled across a door marked OFFICE and with a sigh, walked in. A small, round lady was sitting behind a desk, typing frantically and looking at the computer over the rims of her small glasses.

John had to clear his throat twice before she sighed and looked up at him, "Tardy?"

"No? I'm, uh, I'm John Smith. I'm new. It's my first day and I need a schedule."

The lady examined him in such a way that made John's skin tingle. She must have sensed his fear because her gaze softened and she even gave him a small smile, "Alright, hun, let's see what we can do."

She went back to the computer and as the printer began to whir the door to the right marked HEADMASTER HARRIET JONES opened slowly. A boy about John's age exited sporting a black eye. He seemed on edge and tensed up when a larger man with red knuckles pushed past him. The secretary frowned again, but called the smaller boy over, "Rory, this is John Smith. You have the same first period. I'll write you a pass and you can show him to his locker, it's just next to yours."

Rory was only slightly smaller than John and they shared the same wiry build, but Rory seemed intimidated by him. By anyone, really. John sympathized with him. "So you're a senior, huh?"

The boy's sudden stop pulled John from his thoughts, Yeah, just moved here."

"Well take it from me man, that outfit's gonna get you beat up," Rory walked up to a red locker as John glanced down at his outfit, bow tie and all. He frowned, but shoved his things into the cramped locker and followed Rory down the hall. The kid had warmed up to him and was chattering away about their classes and teachers. In the classroom, Rory sat down quickly, but John stayed at the front while the teacher introduced him.

He surveyed the large crowd of bored teenagers. No one looked terribly friendly and John avoided their eyes as he sunk into a seat near the window. He hoped his little sister was having a better day. When lunch rolled around, John was surprised to see Rory waving him over from a large table of people. He felt bad for thinking Rory wouldn't have friends, but it quickly shifted to relief that they were welcoming him. He sat next to Rory who actually smiled as he introduced John to his friends, "Okay I'm just gonna go around the table: Amy, Mels, Jack, Martha, Dean, Cas, Donna, and Clara."

John nodded, desperately trying to remember all of the names, and introduced himself to the group. Suddenly, an oversized kid fumbled his way over, his too long hair hanging in his face. He stopped next to one of the boys at the table (John remembered him being called Dean) and grabbed some money off Dean's tray, "Thanks!" The kid ran off, straight over to a table where three young girls and a boy waited eagerly. Dean looked confused, "Who's that new kid over with Sammy?"

This was a question John could answer, "That's my kid sister, Rose. Is Sammy your brother?"

"Yeah, he's a freshman, believe it or not. The kid's a sasquatch."

"Who are the others?"

"That's Jess next to Sam. They've been dating for a while now, since the end of eighth grade. Other two are Mickey and my sister, Jo. All freshmen. Don't worry, they're all good kids, damn geniuses in fact."

John smiled; glad his sister appeared happy. She'd left her best friend when they'd moved, and she'd been miserable. "So how are you all…friends?" John asked, "I mean, you don't seem like you'd hang out with the same people."

Everyone laughed, but Cas finally answered him, "Well, Amy and Mels have been friends since birth and all the girls at this table are sci-fi fanatics," he paused and grinned wickedly as they all furiously protested, "Jack's just crazy and a tad too outgoing for most people, Dean here spent his first two years being too overprotective of his brother to make any real friends – ow!" Cas flinched as Dean's fist connected with his shoulder, "And I'm gay and my twin brother's an assbutt so nobody really pays any attention to me. They're just glad I don't prank people like Gabe."

He finished his story and looked proud of himself, despite everyone else's glares and snorts of protest. John couldn't help but burst into laughter. Jack grinned and flicked a spoon at just the right angle to smack Cas right in his oblivious face, wiping the smug grin right off, "Don't screw with me pretty boy or I'll tell your…" he paused for dramatic effect before leaning in to whisper, "_SECRET_." The entire table laughed a little too loud when Cas's face turned deep red. The girls stayed silent for the rest of lunch, occasionally whispering to each other while the boys joked and laughed, occasionally launching croutons at each other across the table.

John ended up having his next class with Dean and Clara, so the three walked together through the crowded hallway. John may have been wiry, but he towered over Clara's small body. She was pretty, he thought. Sweet, too. She reminded him of his sister, and he made a not to introduce her to Rose. Dean yanked him into the open door he nearly walked past and the two grabbed seats at one of the lab tables across from Clara and her friend, Ruby. He and Dean talked all through chemistry and their next two classes before they could go to final period. English must have been Dean's favorite class because it was the only one where seemed all too eager to sit in the front row of desks.

John laughed out loud when he realized why. With a few minutes until the bell, a young teacher walked in and introduced herself as Bela Talbot before sitting at the desk to read through her roster, "Winchester, I hope you decide to behave yourself this semester." She didn't even look up from the computer. Dean grinned and was about to give a sarcastic response when the bell rang and Cas sprinted in the room, breathless with his trench coat flapping behind him. John could've sworn he saw Dean blush. Curious…

Bela began class and John tuned her out, thinking of his old home as she spoke in her delicate British accent. Dean left to get Sam as soon as the bell rang, barely throwing John a wave as he ran out of the room. John gathered his books and left, thankful to find Rory waiting outside the classroom. He pushed off the wall when John left, excitedly asking about his classes and they left the building. John didn't mention Dean and Cas. They got outside and Rory waved to two pretty young women that John recognized from lunch. One was Rory's girlfriend, Amy. She had long red hair and wore a short black skirt. Her round eyes sparkled up at Rory as she reached up to kiss him, her friend faked gagging and John looked to her. She was beautiful. She might have been the most beautiful girl John had ever seen. She was shorter than him and had outrageous curly hair that poofed out into a golden ponytail. She smiled up at John and he felt his own face turning red. Luckily, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

FROM: Rose  
TO: John  
Hey u. Can i hang out w/ my friends? b home 4 dinner.

FROM: John  
TO: Rose  
Sure thing. I'm going out too. Don't forget – dad is coming home tonight.

FROM: Rose  
TO: John  
Oh. Right.

John sighed and flipped his phone closed. His sister had never gotten on with their dad, especially since he forced the move to Kansas. He decided to text her again.

FROM: John  
TO: Rose  
Chin up, Rosie Posie. Have fun with your friends.

FROM: Rose  
TO: John  
Don't call me Rosie Posie. I'll see u 4 dinner

He snapped his phone shut as it buzzed again.

FROM: Unknown Number  
TO: John  
Who are you texting?

John looked up and Mels grinned at him. Amy and Rory didn't notice.

FROM: John  
TO: Unknown Number  
How the hell did you get this number, Mels?

FROM: Unknown Number  
TO: John  
I have my ways.

FROM: John  
TO: Unknown Number  
Rose

FROM: Unknown Number  
TO: John  
You said it not me, pretty boy. Call me River.

FROM: John  
TO: Unknown Number  
Why?

FROM: John  
TO: Unknown Number  
Everybody does. Except Rory. He acts like my dad :P

John laughed and River winked at him. Amy and Rory looked amused, "Are you two done with your secret conversation?" John flushed scarlet and the other three laughed, "Can we go? Rose and I have to be home for dinner." Amy grabbed Rory's hand and they lead the way to the movie theater.

FROM: Unknown Number  
TO: John  
Good luck getting revenge ;)

He blushed again, refusing to make eye contact. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad.

...

When John got home he ran straight to his sister, "Rosie, why did you give River my number?"

"Mels? Because she asked for it and I saw how you were looking at her during lunch."

"I wasn't – oh, shut up!"

"Johnny likes a giirrrrrrll!" John lunged at his sister as she smirked and continued her singing, diving just out of his reach.

"Oi, no fighting on my first night back."

"Dad?"

"Hey kids!" he grabbed Rose in a hug and clapped John on the shoulder, "Do you like your school?"

"It's not too bad," John noticed his sister's cheeks flush ever so slightly and smiled to himself.

...

He was finishing homework in his room when his phone buzzed again.

FROM: Dean TO: John  
Hey, man! Party tomorrow?

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
Sure. Hey mate, what's up with you and Cas?

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
WHAT. Nothing. Nothing.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
Right. Because that's the response you give when there's 'nothing'.

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
I'll pick you up at 7.

**A/N - Hey guys! I already have a fair amount of this written so I'll probably have an update for you all tomorrow. Bear with me. Please read and review! It means the world to me to hear from you guys. If you have any questions, leave them in a review and I'll answer them at the beginning of the next update :)**


	2. Party Chapter

***A/N: Only warning I can think of is underage drinking? Please review and I'll love you forever! As unfortunately as always, I do not own Supernatural or Doctor Who. If I did, Destiel would've been canon about 3 years ago.**

John snapped his phone closed, tossed it on his bed, and jogged down the wooden stairs. His dad was passed out drunk at the kitchen table, nothing new for his first night back. John sighed and slid a couch cushion under his dad's head before going into the living room. A _Law and Order_ rerun was flashing on the TV and his sister was asleep on her biology textbook. He pulled the book out and zipped it into her backpack with the rest of her things, then picked her up easily and carrying her upstairs. It was their routine. When his sister was sound asleep in her own bed, he went back to his room and checked his phone.

FROM: River  
TO: John  
See you at the party tomorrow, pretty boy.

John smiled as he fell asleep.

River wasn't at school the next day. He frowned when he reached the lunch table, the usually loud and boisterous corner down to only one member. John pulled up a seat across to Cas, "Where is everybody?"

"Dean and Jack always skip when there's a big party. River went with them today. I believe the girls had a project to work on."

"So it's just you and me, huh? You going to the party?"

"Yes, Dean is taking me."

"Hey, me too!" Something that looked like jealousy flashed briefly in Cas's big blue eyes, "What's going on with you and Dean?" Cas looked surprised, "Nothing!" John smiled at the similarity to Dean's answer.

That evening, Dean found himself spending a horrendous amount of time picking out an outfit. He looked next door to see if Cas was walking over yet. The porch lights of the Novak house flickered as Cas slammed the door and Dean could hear Michael and Luke fighting inside. Before Cas could even get off the steps, a small girl with long red curls ran after him and jumped on his back.

Dean turned back from his window and examined his closet frantically. Why was he so stressed about this? It was CAS. They were friends, nothing more. Dean liked girls. He dated Lisa Braeden last year. He scowled, pulling on a pair of dark wash jeans and a dark green T-shirt before grabbing his leather jacket and heading down the stairs. He made it to the door just as Cas was reaching for the doorbell.

"Deany!" The little girl beside his best friend yelled, diving forward to latch onto his leg.

"Hey, Anna Banana. How's kindergarten?"

"Boring."

Cas detached the girl and threw her over his shoulder, "Come on, let's go get John. Think his sister will mind watching Anna?"

"Probably not, but I'll bring Sam too. Sammy!"

"Dean!" Sam appeared at the top of the stairs looking beyond pissed off, "I'm trying to study!"

"Yeah good for you, now come on. It's Friday night. I'll drop you off at Rose's and y'all can watch Anna."

"Fine," Sam gave his brother his best bitchface and ducked back into his room.

"Hurry up Sasquatch, we need to go!"

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Please tell me your little sister isn't doing anything tonight

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
…Why?

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Cas's older brothers are fighting again and his little sister needs to be out of the house. Can Rose babysit? I'm bringing Sammy.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
Relax, man. She'll do it. She was planning on studying anyway.

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Your sister is way too much like my brother

"Hey, JoJo?" Dean called down to the basement, "I'm taking Sammy to Rose's for a while."

"Kay! Charlie's sleeping over by the way. She's teaching me how to play video games!" Dean laughed at the thought, "Charlie is a brave and patient girl. She should get a medal for this."

Cas chuckled. Sam finally ran down the stairs and the four of them crammed into Dean's Impala and began the five-minute drive to John's house. John opened the door and stared at the crowd on his front porch, furrowing his eyebrows. Dean was in front, grinning suspiciously with his massive brother standing behind him. Cas was fiddling with the hem of his navy V-neck and looking incredibly annoyed at the hyper little girl in his arms.

John invited them in and called Rose downstairs. Anna jumped out of Cas's arms, red hair flying in all directions as she ran to Rose, obviously thankful to have found another girl. Sam grinned at Rose as she switched on the TV and followed her into the kitchen to order a pizza. John slipped out the door behind Dean and Cas and the trio made it all the way into the Impala before anyone spoke, "So where's your dad?" Cas piped up from the passenger seat, "Didn't you say he was coming home or something?"

"Dunno, he was gone when we woke up. Left a note saying he'd ring later this week."

"Sorry. Better than my brothers at least. Always home, always fighting."

"What about your parents, Cas?"

"Died in a car crash my freshman year. Luke was a senior and Anna was only two. Michael had just graduated college so he got a house and we moved across town, next to Dean, actually. We'd been friends for a while. Luke's a junior at the local college, and I guess you know about Gabe and Anna."

"Your brothers fight a lot?"

"All the time. Luke's pretty cool, but has a short temper. Mike tries to control all of us. He really isn't old enough to be parenting teenagers. Next year he'll just have Anna."

"What about you, Dean? What's your family like?"

"Ha! Good one. My mom died a few months after Sammy was born, Dad walked out five years later. A family friend, Bobby, and his wife Ellen adopted us. They're awesome. I work at Bobby's auto shop sometimes. Jo is their daughter. She's Sam's age and everyone would think they were twins if it wasn't for the different last names."

"What about your mom, John?" Cas chimed in to change the subject.

"She's dead too. There was a scandal in her company last year and she couldn't handle the pressure so she killed herself. Our dad hasn't taken it well, obviously. Neither has Rose."

They rode in awkward silence until they reached the party. Lights flashed all down the block and music was coming from a large brick house. Dean pulled the car over and jumped out, "All right! Ruby knows how to throw a party!"

John recognized the name, "Clara's friend?"

"One and only. C'mon!"

The group walked down the street and into Ruby's house, finding their friends immediately. The music was loud as Amy and Rory waved from the dance floor. River appeared out of nowhere, grabbing a very reluctant John's hand and pulling him next to her friends. John was a terrible dancer, and River laughed watching him try to figure out how to move his own impossible limbs. Dean and Cas stood on the sidelines; laughing so hard they couldn't breathe and found themselves leaning on each other for support. Dean pulled Cas over to get shots, forgetting what Cas was like when he got drunk. He'd made out with Jack more than once, not that Jack complained. Sure enough, half an hour later Dean was getting tipsy when, "DEEAAN! Let's DANCE!"

Dean's reflexes were delayed enough that before he knew it Cas had pulled him into the middle of a sea of their classmates. Dean couldn't think straight. He was drunk, surrounded by dancing bodies and too-loud music. And there was Cas, right in front of him. Dancing with him. Those bright blue eyes staring up at him so intently he thought he would explode. Cas's black hair was sticking out even more with every passing minute and suddenly Dean was looking at his lips. His best friend's lips. His best friend who was a boy, but Dean didn't even care. He leaned forward suddenly, grabbing Cas's waist with one hand and the back of his neck with the other and pulled the boy's lips to his own. He kissed Cas hard, bringing their bodies closer on the crowded dance floor. And then something happened that sobered Dean up quickly. Cas kissed him back. Cas wrapped his arms around Dean's waist and kissed him back. Dean jumped away in surprise and sprinted out of the room. "Dean!" Cas called. Dean didn't respond, just kept running; leaving a not as drunk Cas alone and confused.

FROM: Unknown Number  
TO: John  
Is this John?

FROM: John  
TO: Unknown Number  
Yes?

FROM: Unknown Number  
TO: John  
It's Sam. Dean's brother. He's at your house; i think he's sleeping on your yard? We can't reach Cas.

FROM: John  
TO: Unknown Number  
Don't worry, Sammy. Be there in 10.

John yelled over the loud music to tell River what was going on, and they explained it to Amy and Rory before running off to find Cas. They found him in the front closet, holding a beer and singing to himself. They lifted him to his feet and stabilized him as they made their way to Dean's car. John had taken his keys as soon as they got to the party, so he unlocked the doors and they pushed Cas into the backseat. They sped off a little too quickly and reached John's house in less than five minutes. When they pulled in the driveway, Sam was sitting in the grass next to Dean, concern painted all over his face. "Sam, is he ok?!"

"I think so. Did you find Cas?"

"Backseat. Okay, I think Dean's fine, just drunk. He passed out."

Sam sighed and John got the unsettling feeling this was a fairly normal occurrence. River stayed with Sam and John jogged up to the house and into the family Room. Rose was lying on the sofa with Anna asleep in her lap, "Is Sam's brother okay?"

"Yeah, he's good kiddo. We just gotta drive him home. Stay here and go to sleep, I'll take Anna," John reached over and grabbed the little angel out of his sister's arms and went back outside, "River can you stay here with Rose? She's sleeping and I don't want to leave her alone."

"Of course," River went inside and John lifted Dean up and put him in the back seat of the Impala where Cas was starting to wake up, "wuz appenin?"

"We got Dean. I'm driving you home, Sleeping Beauty."

Sam slid into the passenger seat with Anna and directed John to their house. John helped Sam carry Dean inside to the sofa and directed Sam to call when Dean woke up the next day so he could return the car. Sam agreed and said goodnight, looking like he could pass out at any moment. John went back to the car and picked up Cas's sleeping sister before opening the door for Cas. He was coherent now, though confused, but he let John lead him up the steps to his house before knocking quietly. The door opened immediately to reveal a boy about John's age with golden brown hair and a wide smile. John recognized him from English.

"Hey, asshole!" Gabe's words were directed at Cas and just loud enough to make the boy cringe. Gabe's eyes softened when he saw Anna sleeping on John's shoulder and he reached out to grab his baby sister. He cradled her gently and pulled his twin into the house, thanking John and promising to have Cas text him when he woke up. There was nothing else John could do but go home. He woke up the next morning at 10:00 on the dot with his phone buzzing from his nightstand.

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Sorry.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
It's ok.

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Do you know what happened last night? Cas won't talk to me, but I can see him reading my messages.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
I don't know. I'll ask and let you know when I bring your car back.

FROM: John  
TO: Cas  
What the hell happened last night?

FROM: Cas  
TO: John  
I don't want to discuss this with you.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
I dunno man. He seems pretty pissed off.

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Maybe I should go over there

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
That's a bad idea. I'll go and I'll leave your car at your place.


	3. Ramifications

***A/N: Could it be? An update? Read and review and you'll have my undying affection! I might post again tonight :)**

Ten minutes later, John was parked in the Singer's driveway and ringing the bell. He was expecting Dean's moose of a brother to open the door, but when it was finally yanked open there was a very unhappy and hungover Dean, "Can you maybe not ring the bell?"

"Can you maybe not get drunk off your ass and pass out in my yard?"

"Touché, Smith. Come in."

"Called in sick, I imagine?"

"You got it. Sam's studying. He's pretty pissed. Wish I could remember what I did to get all these people mad at me."

"I'll talk to Sam."

When Sam finally yelled for him to come in, John found him on his bed, leaning over his algebra book. He vaguely remembered Rose mentioning something about a big test coming up. "Do you know what happened with your brother?"

"Yeah, he was drunk."

"Sammy -"

"Cas texted me."

"What happened?"

"You really should talk to Cas."

John agreed and left without bye to Dean, heading next door. This time, he thought to knock and was greeted by an overly exuberant Gabriel with Anna squealing from his back. Gabe immediately let him in and directed him to Cas's room. John understood why Cas thought Gabe was a dick. The guy was hungover and his twin brother was all but having a rock concert right below his room.

"Cas?"

"Hey John."

"Feeling better?"

"Loads."

"Do you remember what happened last night?"

"Yeah. Although I get wild when I'm drunk, I'm unfortunate enough to retain all of my memories."

"So what happened?"

"You don't know? I assumed Sam told you."

"He said I should talk to you."

"Oh," Cas looked at the ground and mumbled something.

"What?"

"Deankissedme!" Cas spoke too fast for John to comprehend right away and Cas fell back onto his pillow, tears springing to his eyes.

"You like him."

"Yes. But we've been best friends since ever. He doesn't remember last night and he's not even gay."

John thought the last one was debatable, but he didn't say anything. He texted Amy, since she was dating Rory she must be good at relationships.

FROM: John  
TO: Amy  
Any good at relationships, Pond?

FROM: Amy  
TO: John  
I like to think so…why?

FROM: John  
TO: Amy  
How fast can you get to Cas's?

FROM: Amy  
TO: John  
2 minutes. I live down the road.

FROM: John  
TO: Amy  
Does everyone in this town live on the same damn road?

Cas and John sat in silence until they heard the front door opening. Cas looked confused, but groaned and fell back again when Amy walked into the room. Her smile turned into a scowl when she saw his reaction, "Geez Cassie, I came to help you and this is the thanks I get?"

"Bite me, Pond."

Amy smiled again and turned to John, "He didn't know I was coming?"

"It was an emergency situation!"

Amy rolled her eyes at the clueless boy and sat on the bed next to Cas, still addressing John, "I've been friends with Cas and River since we were babies. Cas and Dean been practically inseparable since the Winchester boys moved in when we were five."

John nodded, "So you know about the massive crush Dean has on our buddy Cas?"

That got Cas's attention.

"Of course. He's had a thing for Cas since they met. But I don't know if there's a force on this planet strong enough to pull Dean Winchester out of the closet," she turned to Cas, "You should trust me on this. I knew you were gay since we were eight. Got ten bucks from River for calling it. I know what I'm talking about."

John felt eyes on him and he looked out Cas's window. Dean was watching him and John could tell he looked upset. He saw Dean whip out his phone and felt a buzz in his pocket a few seconds later.

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Why is Amy there?

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
Why do you want to know?

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
I think I remember

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
Come over.

"Dean remembers. He's coming over."

"NO!"

"Cas you were drunk too, he won't think anything was going on." Cas had no response because there was a thump on the roof and his window opened with a creek as Dean peeked in, "Ah Amy Pond, nice to see you."

"Wish I could say the same, Winchester. You look like hell and smell like alcohol and shame."

Dean rolled his eyes, "You sure know how to make a guy feel good." He pushed Amy's feet off the chair so he could sit down. He and Cas both looked around at basically anything but each other. "Alright! Well John and I are just gonna head downstairs and tame Gabe. You two crazy kids have fun!"

Amy grabbed John by his wrist and pulled him down the stairs after her. He tripped over his feet and nearly managed to take Amy out before steadying himself on the bannister. He heard two sets of loud laughter and turned to find Gabe holding Anna in one arm and a box of candy in the other, "What's going on with my idiot of a brother that requires Amy?"

"He's upstairs talking to Dean."

"Talking…right," Gabe scoffed and Amy and John looked at each other, "He's my twin brother, you honestly think I haven't noticed he's in love with Dean-O?"

"I thought he didn't tell his family he was gay?"

"Amy, we live together and we share a room. There isn't much I don't know about the guy. Besides, I couldn't care less, Anna doesn't even know what it means, and I really doubt Luke would give a damn. Its just Mike that Cassie's afraid of."

FROM: River  
TO: John  
Amy told me what's happening. Dean and Cas okay?

FROM: John  
TO: River  
Think so. They're talking.

FROM: River  
TO: John  
Yeah. Talking.

FROM: John  
TO: River  
Scary. That's exactly what Gabe said.

That shut River up. As soon as he slipped his phone back in his pocket, it buzzed again.

FROM: Cas  
TO: John  
He isn't saying anything. Just looking at the wall.

FROM: John  
TO: Cas  
You can talk to him, Cas.

FROM: Cas  
TO: John  
Oh. Right.

John rolled his eyes and shoved his phone away after Amy had time to read the messages over his shoulder. She giggled, "That boy is so clueless."


	4. Destiel Fluff

***A/N: Oh my God guys it's been so long since I updated. Okay so I felt like I skipped over this and it needed to be written so here you all go! Please review, you know I love it ;) I'll try to update again tonight when I get home from work. Oh and there's some implied self harm in this chapter.**

Dean could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage. He could feel Cas's eyes following him as he walked over to the bed and sat down before he closed his eyes and focused on taking deep breaths. He cracked them open and stared at the wall thinking of anything to say when he heard Cas pull his phone out. A second later it vibrated in Cas's hands and Dean heard him let out an annoyed sigh. He let himself look at his best friend out of the corner of his eye just in time to see Cas give his phone an extremely agitated eye roll. He couldn't stop the laugh from escaping and he quickly covered his mouth with his hands, feeling his face turn red. Their eyes met and Dean saw a similar tint come into Cas's cheeks and he turned away as his own burned. _What is going on? It was one kiss and we were drunk. Cas doesn't even like me. Hell, I'm not even gay!_

"Dean?" Dean's head snapped up and Cas was a little too close for comfort staring him down. Dean blushed again. He had whispered everything. He had said it out loud and Cas had heard. _Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit._

Cas cocked his head as Dean tried to control his breathing. He smirked slightly at Dean's flushed cheeks and spun around, having accomplished his goal. He sauntered back to his chair, stumbling slightly with his false confidence. Dean saw him trembling. There was no more upper hand, just a pair of terrified and confused seventeen-year-old boys. Dean resumed his staring at the wall. Cas, the little confidence he had shattered, took to staring at his palms and the faded scars just below them – the only secret he had ever kept from the green eyed boy sitting on his bed. When he looked back up, Dean was peering at him hesitantly, "so...hey?"

"Hello, Dean." Cas's heart was beating out of control. _This is it. It's the end of our friendship._ He dropped Dean's gaze and felt tears burn behind his eyes. He had psyched himself out. He really would lose his best friend if Dean ever found out. He'd had a crush on his best friend for years, but after the kiss...well, if Dean knew how he felt, they couldn't recover from that. He had been so stupid. He was sure Dean had seen his blush and _knew._ There was no way he couldn't. Sure Dean had kissed him, but he'd been drunk. It was obvious now that that was all. How could Cas have been so stupid as to think there could have been anything behind it?

Dean watched in stilled silence as Cas's face fell and his eyes shifted back and forth in obvious confusion. He felt panicked; he knew how Cas got sometimes. Zoning out when he thought Dean wasn't watching. Those looks of absolute vulnerability that overcame his beautiful eyes. Dean thought his heart might have stopped when Cas slipped a finger under the sleeve of his sweater and Cas's face contorted in obvious pain. Cas was hiding something from him and Dean was trying very, very hard not to think about what that was. A sudden wave of desperation overcame him and before Dean knew what he was doing, he was walking across Cas's room to stand in front of the desk chair Cas sat in.

Cas looked up when Dean approached him suddenly. He furrowed his eyebrows as he watched confusion flicker across Dean's features and he followed his friend's eyes down to his hands, quickly removing his hand from his wrist. He blushed slightly and avoided Dean's gaze.

Dean forced himself to not think about his best friend's secret, but he couldn't ignore the pain on Cas's face and the thought that he could've caused any of it. He carefully thought about the last couple of minutes and decided he needed to take a chance, "Cas...do you...do you, uh, like me?"

"You're my best friend, Dean."

"No, you know damn well what I mean." His voice was barely more than a whisper, but he still felt it catch as his breath hitched in his throat.

Cas couldn't stop the tear that spilled over and fell down his cheek. He instantly dropped Dean's gaze and felt his face heat up. There was no denying it anymore. He couldn't make his voice work, and when it cracked, he simply nodded, keeping his face out of Dean's view as the tears continued to fall.

"Cas..." Dean felt his entire body tremble. He had never felt so conflicted in his entire life. He needed something to ground him, so he gently lifted Cas's face up to look at him, needing to see his best friend's eyes. The sheer pain across Cas's face broke his heart.

"Dean, I'm sorry. I, uh, I understand if you...if you want to leave..."

"What? Cas, I'm not going anywhere."

"But I just ruined everything."

"Cas, I kissed you. And I freaked out and... I ran. Because I was scared."

"Scared?" Dean could've sworn something like hope flickered through the big blue eyes looking up at him, "Yeah. You kissed me back and I was scared. Because you aren't a girl and...and it was a damn good kiss, man."

Cas cocked his head to the side as Dean spoke, watching in fascination as Dean's cheeks flushed when he caught Cas watching. Cas blushed and looked away, too scared to look at Dean.

Dean felt his stomach flip and his face turn red, but he swallowed hard and pulled Cas's face toward him again, "No no no, you're not getting away that easily."

Dean watched as Cas's eyes got impossibly wide, and he was lost. Before he knew what he was doing, he had pulled Cas up and pressed him against the wall beside the desk, "If you didn't here me, Cas, I said it was a damn good kiss."

Cas's heart fluttered in surprise when Dean lifted him up, and then he was against the wall and Dean was so close he could feel the heat radiating from his body. Cas was terrified, but he couldn't tear his eyes from Dean's, desperately searching for something that would tell him this was all a trick. He couldn't stop himself as more tears streamed down his face, and he bit his lip nervously.

Dean was sure he looked just as scared as Cas, but like his best friend, he couldn't look away. When tears started falling down Cas's face, Dean couldn't handle it anymore, and he didn't care how Cas reacted. He leaned forward; slow enough that Cas could pull away if he wanted, and gently ghosted his lips over Cas's in the softest possible kiss.

Cas couldn't control himself. When Dean kissed him like that, he felt a desperate sob escape from the back of his throat. This was all he had wanted for so long. _Dean_ was all he had wanted. His arms went up to wrap around Dean's neck as he forced their lips back together in a real kiss. After a minute, he pulled away for breath and looked at Dean with fear in his eyes. He hadn't meant to do that.

Dean stared down at Cas, amusement in his eyes. He pulled back a bit so they were a few inches apart and smirked down at Cas, "Well alright, I guess I know how you feel then."

Cas felt his cheeks burn, but he couldn't look away from Dean and he couldn't stop smiling. Instead, he pulled Dean back down, kissing him again and smiling when Dean responded. When he pulled away, he carefully intertwined their hands and smiled shyly.

Dean grinned; this was a completely new side of Cas. His phone buzzed and Cas looked at him, more confident than before, "Dean Winchester. That better be your phone."

Now it was Dean's turn to look shy. He stuck his tongue out as Cas as he checked his phone, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand before turning back to Cas, "It's Sammy. I gotta go back for dinner," he glanced over at the window, thanking God he thought to close the curtains after climbing in the window.

Cas took one look at Dean's red lips and messy hair and had to stifle a giggle, "I'd go out the window. I don't think you want to face John or Amy, or Gabe for that matter, looking like that."

Dean took one look at himself and agreed, grabbing Cas's hips and pulling him in for another reassuring kiss before throwing him a wink and climbing out the window and jumping across to his own roof. Cas locked his door and flopped down on the bed, texting John to let him know they could go home and quickly turning his phone off so he wouldn't have to deal with their questions. He'd get enough of that from Gabe, even with the door locked.


	5. Class Project

***A/N: Ok guys, here you go! Two updates in one night! Read and review and there might be another tomorrow ;)**

Dean's phone vibrated as he practically skipped down stairs, ignoring his brother's questioning stare. He yanked it out of his pocket and frowned upon inspection – Gabe had gotten ahold of it at some point and changed the contact names. Again.

FROM: Gabe My Favorite Novak Twin  
TO: Dean  
Hey Dean-O what's up?

FROM: Dean  
TO: Gabe  
Not in your lifetime Gabriel

His phone lit up again and – "Damn it Gabe!"

FROM: Novak Twin I'm Banging  
TO: Dean  
Want to come over Monday?

FROM: Dean  
TO: Cas  
Idk I might murder your brother.

FROM: Cas  
TO: Dean  
I'm not going to ask

FROM: Dean  
TO: Cas  
You don't wanna know

FROM: Cas  
TO: Dean  
So your house then?

Dean smiled.

FROM: Dean  
TO: Cas  
Yeah. Sammy's gf is coming over anyway so I need to supervise.

Monday morning came without any more communication and Cas had to physically restrain Dean in the hallway to keep him from slapping Gabe across the face. Gabe smirked and sauntered off, leaving his brother pinning Dean's arms behind his back. Cas wanted to know what his brother did, but Dean wasn't talking. He knew Cas was terrified about coming out to his family. The knowledge that his obnoxious twin knew and wanted him and Dean to suck it up and get together would probably be too much. So Cas remained clueless as ever.

John bounded up to them a few minutes later with entirely too much energy for 7:30 in the morning. He was dragging a young girl behind him, blonde ponytail flying around behind her. She was obviously annoyed with the exuberant young man, but used to his behavior, "Hey! This is my sister, Rose. Rosie, these are my mates, Dean and Cas."

Rose turned to Dean, "Sam's brother."

A look of absolute horror overtook Dean's face, "Don't believe everything Sasquatch says, sweetheart. He's a little bitch."

Rose grinned in response and kissed her brother on the cheek before running down the hall after Dean's sister as the warning bell chimed for first period.

John lingered at the end of the day, in no hurry to go home. He shifted through his locker and pulled out any books he could possibly need. He could practically feel the stare through his locker door, so he slammed it shut, expecting to be met with River's curly braid. Instead he jumped in surprise when he saw the unblinking face of a petite brunette. Clara's brow furrowed, but a second later her eyes lit up in amusement and she giggled at his reaction.

"Clara?"

"Hey John."

"Um, what's up? Did I leave a book in chemistry again?"

"No," she laughed, "They put up the list of partners for the English midterm project." She passed him a crinkled sheet of paper and he inspected it diligently.

MIDTERM PROJECT PARTNERS  
Gabriel Novak and Melody Song  
Amy Pond and Rory Williams  
Ruby Cortese and Meg Masters  
John Smith and Clara Oswald  
Jack Harkness and Donna Noble  
Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak  
Balthazar Roche and Martha Jones

John glanced at Clara who shrugged, "Don't ask me. Nobody knows who the hell Balthazar is. I think he's new."

John frowned, glancing back at the list. Mr. Strax had done a damn good job putting them into pairs; maybe John would have to stop calling him Mister Potato Head. Dean and Cas would be happy, but he felt bad for River. He laughed out loud thinking of Jack working with Donna. That would be good. "So what do we have to do for this thing?"

"It's a paper. We can choose the topic as long as it has to do with something we'll learn this semester."

John's face lit up and Clara gazed at him skeptically, "What?"

"Perfect!" he grabbed Clara's hand and ran toward the library, pulling her along behind him. By the time they reached the massive library, Clara was confused and annoyed, "What are you looking for?"

He skimmed the shelves quickly before pulling out a large novel, "We learned about the use of time in different literary periods, right? It's perfect!"

Clara yanked the book from his grasp and was surprised to see it was one of her favorites: A History of the Time War. John began explaining it excitedly and he was so cute when he started to ramble that Clara didn't stop him to say she'd read the book so many times she practically memorized it.

"It's this really cool sci-fi novel. There's this guy – he's called the Doctor – and his people from this other world. The whole book is like a history of this war that isn't even real! They fight these things called Daleks. They look kinda like saltshakers. And – oh I won't tell you the end. I don't know it, actually. Hate endings. Ripped the last page out of my copy."

Clara's grin finally made him stop, "What?"

"It's my favorite novel. My mom used to read it to me when I was young."

"Oh."

Clara pulled her own copy of the book from her bag and smiled at her partner.

"Oh."

They both laughed loudly, getting shushed by the librarian for making so much noise. John slid the thick volume back on the shelf since they both had copies and dragged the smaller girl out toward his car. They walked across the student lot where a fair number of cars waited. Clara pointed out her small motorbike and they headed toward it. Clara couldn't get the bike to start so they dragged it over to his car, a small and boxy blue compact at the end of the lot, "C'mon Clara, we can slide the bike into the back. Don't worry, it's bigger than it looks."

They slid the bike into the back seat with much more ease than Clara was expecting. When she turned back around, John was looking at the old black car a few spots down with a smile on his face, "'67 Impala?"

John looked surprised, "Yeah."

"It's Dean's. Why are you so excited about it?"

"Not about the car, look."

Clara peered through the window and stifled a giggle. Dean Winchester was lying back in the leather seat silently air drumming while 'Eye of the Tiger' blasted through the speakers. When John looked back again, Dean's kid brother was towering over Clara, fluffy hair falling in his eyes as he laughed at his older brother. Evidently the song had ended because Dean had heard them laughing and was now glaring at them through the window with a particularly red face.

"What is so amusing?" Everyone jumped when Cas seemed to appear from thin air. John noticed that Dean looked even redder and pulled out his phone.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
So how's this 'nothing' between you and Cas going?

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Fuck off man.

John looked up and saw Dean glaring at him through the now open window before growling to his little brother, "Get in, Sammy."

Sam grimaced before pushing through the small group and sliding into the passenger seat. Cas slid into the back and John smirked when Dean's ears turned dark red.

John pulled Clara over to his car and let her into the passenger seat. They talked for a while, and it didn't even dawn on her that they were waiting for someone else until the back door opened and a surprised young girl slid into the car next to the bike. "Clara this is my sister."

The two girls talked and laughed as John started the car, pulling away from the school. They got to the Smith house before John even remembered he had to take Clara home. He let Rose in their house so she could start on her homework and drove to Clara's home, following her hesitant directions. She lived in a cute little place, and John smiled at how very Clara it was. As she grabbed her bag and left with a quick goodbye and see you later, John found himself wanting to see her more. After pulling the bike out of his backseat, he drove home in a daze, completely content.

When he pulled into his driveway, he frowned. His sister was outside talking to a boy he had never seen before. The boy ran his fingers through his hair and it stuck straight up making Rose giggle. His little sister did not giggle. He slammed his car door just a tad too loud and both Rose and the boy jumped, looking embarrassed. The noise also happened to wake the other boy sleeping on the porch, "Hey neighbor!"

"Jack? You live next door?"

"Surprise!"

John was not smiling. Rather, he was practically glaring at the string bean of a boy standing with his kid sister. Jack jumped up and ran over, "Who Johnny boy calm down! This is my cousin, Dave. He's a sophomore. Why are you so tense?"

"Because there is a Harkness standing fairly close to Rosie."

The string bean decided this would be an ideal time to pipe up, "Trust me, I'm nothing like my cousin. And my name is David."

John looked the boy over; he appeared fairly harmless. John decided to give him a chance and walked back to the porch with Jack, "I swear Jack, if he hurts my sister –"

"He won't! He's a great kid despite my efforts to corrupt him. Your sister is in good hands." John wasn't convinced, but Rose seemed happier than she had in a long time so he decided to let her be friends with the kid. He wandered into his own house, thinking about texting Clara until he saw the blinking light on their house phone indicating that he had a message. When it played, he thanked heaven Rose wasn't inside.

"Hey guys, its Dad. Uh, I think I'll be away for a while. I met some folks and we got in some trouble and we're good now, but I don't know when I'll be able to get home again. John, take care of Rosie and, uh –" the message cut off with a loud beep and John realized he had pressed the delete button. Tears stung in his eyes. He wanted everything to be back how it was so Rose could just have a normal life.


	6. Crushes

***A/N: I am SO SO SO sorry I haven't posted in a while! School and rehearsals and work have been crazy! Here's a long update to thank you all for putting up with me! I love you guys! (I still don't own Doctor Who or Supernatural. Boo.)**

***A/N #2: Hey all, since I added in a Destiel chapter earlier, I edited this one a bit. Enjoy!**

John texted Dean later that evening, they were getting to be quite good friends despite knowing each other for only a week.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
Okay mate, wanna tell me what's going on?

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Can I come over?

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
See you soon.

Not ten minutes later, the front door opened as Dean and his brother let themselves in, nearly giving Rose a heart attack. Sam joined her in front of the TV and Dean jogged up the steps to John's room. John was laying on his bed so Dean plopped down in the swivel chair across the room, "Ok."

"Okay?"

"What do you want to know, John?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"With Cas? Me and Cas?"

"Dean don't act surprised. I've know you for what, a week? And it's obvious to me."

"Cas came over."

"Yes, I rather expected that when he got in your car."

Dean paused long enough to shoot him a death stare, "We talked, dude."

"And…?"

"And nothing. He said he likes me and I freaked out."

John raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips, "Dean would you like to borrow my car? Maybe it could pull you out of the closet."

"What?!"

"You obviously like Cas."

"I like girls." Dean still wasn't ready to admit to their friends what had happened.

"Will you stop denying in for five seconds, I swear I will call Gabriel. I've seen how you look at him. And how he looks back." Dean had no response. "You're scared, Dean."

"Damn right I'm scared. I like him," Dean's voice came out as a barely audible whisper. John saw how absolutely frightened he looked and felt awful, "I know, Dean. Talk to him."

"We kissed." John smiled at him. Finally. He knew something had happened at Cas's house, but this was an interesting development. Dean was obviously still freaking out, though. He needed to talk to Cas.

FROM: John  
TO: Cas  
Can you come over? Dean 911

FROM: Cas  
TO: John  
Already out the door.

Cas arrived minutes later, completely out of breath, "Gabe is an assbutt. He wouldn't let me borrow the car."

"So you ran?" John and Dean asked in unison, taken aback by Cas's panting and sweating.

"What's wrong, Dean?" he completely ignored their questions and turned to his best friend, who was looking pretty pale.

John answered for him, "We're trying to find something strong enough to pull Dean out of the dark corner of the closet he's buried himself in. Ideas?"

The room went silent. Cas locked eyes with Dean, cocking his head slightly. He realized what was going on almost instantly: John was confronting him and Dean was too scared to admit that they were together. Then Cas was crossing the room swiftly and god Dean looked petrified. He jumped to his feet and backed himself into the back wall. His frantic maneuver didn't stop Cas's advance and Dean looked like he might pass out when Cas pressed up against him. John saw Cas's nervous blue eyes analyzing Dean's confused and frightened face. Dean looked completely caught off guard but didn't hesitate when Cas leaned in and pressed a single light kiss to Dean's lips. Dean's eyes flew wide open when Cas backed up, leaving only a few inches between their faces.

Dean surprised everyone in the room when he reached to wrap his arms around Cas's neck and pulled him back, kissing him again. This time it was Cas who didn't know how to react, but he recovered quickly and wrapped his own arms around Dean's waist. This was a good place to start. They didn't even notice when John left the room in favor of somewhere where he wouldn't feel like an awkward third wheel.

He ended up on the sofa in the family room next to his sister who was staring intently at a Sherlock marathon. In John's opinion, marathon was being pretty generous since there were only six episodes, but he wasn't going the mistake of telling his sister that again. Rose began filling him in on the show when she realized something was off, "Uh John… where are your friends?"

"Making out upstairs." He didn't have to look over to know Rose was staring at him in complete shock, "You're kidding."

"Don't doubt me, Rosie."

"Dean Winchester is gay?"

"Yes, but don't tell him. He's figuring it out. And not a word to Sam." Rose pinky swore and went back to her show, leaning her head on her brother.

Sam came out of the bathroom not ten seconds after those words escaped John's lips, "Hey John."

"Hey Sasquatch!" John joked using Dean's affectionate nickname for the oversized fifteen year old. Sam ignored him completely and sat on other side of Rose. They could be kinda cute if she hadn't met that guy next door and Sam didn't have a girlfriend. John had only seen them together on his first day, but he could just tell Sam and Jess were sickeningly adorable. Dean had verified.

Shit, he'd forgotten about Dean. And Cas. Dean and Cas. He jumped up suddenly and sprinted upstairs like his life depended on it, ignoring Rose's laughter and Sam's confused looks. He almost burst into his room, but thought better of it and settled on knocking like a madman. His phone buzzed.

(2) New Messages

FROM: Clara  
TO: John  
Hey, work after school tomorrow?

FROM: Cas  
TO: John  
For the love of god stop knocking and just come in already.

John opened the door hesitantly. He poked his head in and was promptly met with a pillow flying into his face. As it fell, Cas glared at him. Dean was asleep with his head kind of on Cas's chest. John smiled crookedly at how innocent Dean looked when he fell asleep and wasn't feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. John had only know them for a short time, but he felt like it had been forever. He helped Cas and Sam support a half-awake Dean to the Impala and Cas slid behind the driver's seat, thanking John wholeheartedly. John headed back upstairs and collapsed on his bed, exhausted.

FROM: Clara  
TO: John  
?

FROM: John  
TO: Clara  
Sure. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning so we have the same ride.

FROM: Clara  
TO: John  
See you then

John fell asleep with his phone in his hand and a smile on his face. His happiness did not carry over into the morning. In fact, he was rather rudely awoken half an hour before they had to leave by a certain little sister with a bucket of ice water.

"Rose! What…the…fuck?!" he managed to get out between shivers. He lunged for his sister but she eluded him with a squeal and sprinted back to her own room, barring the door behind her. John gave up threw on some clothes, backing out of the driveway the second Rose shut the car door and driving to Clara's house.

By the time he made it to English, his day had not improved. John sat towards the back and saved a seat next to him so he and Clara could pass notes about their project. The class began to fill up and he saw Rory walk in just ahead of River and Amy. He and Amy sat up front, but River was heading straight to John, "Hello Sweetie!"

"Hi, River."

River sat down in the seat he saved for Clara before he could start to protest. He looked up and saw his partner staring at him, a hint of hurt and betrayal filling her warm brown eyes. She sat next to Amy and made an effort not to look back at him, though she could feel his questioning eyes boring into the back of her head.

Clara felt awful. Betrayed even. But why? John wasn't hers to feel jealous about. John wasn't hers at all, they barely knew each other. She decided to text River. They were friends, after all.

FROM: Clara  
TO: River  
What are you doing with John?

FROM: River  
TO: Clara  
Flirting. Why?

FROM: Clara  
TO: River  
No reason. Never mind.

Clara felt her phone buzz again, but she didn't even look at it. After class, John and Clara walked to his car in awkward silence. Rose was staying over with Jo so Dean was driving her to their place. John and Clara worked silently at his house until eight, when Clara decided to walk home. She gathered her things up quickly and practically ran out his front door. John thought he saw tears in her eyes. He was confused. What happened?

FROM: River  
TO: John  
Hello Sweetie

River had happened. Did that mean Clara liked him? He deleted the text from River and sent his closest friend an SOS.

FROM: John  
TO: Amy  
911. I need you, Pond.

FROM: Amy  
TO: John  
On my way. Are 911's gonna become a regular thing?

He ignored her last question. It was nearly eleven at night and Amy was coming over to help him. She really was a great friend. They didn't see each other loads outside of school because she was always with Rory, but they had more than half of their classes together and had bonded very quickly. She was better than him at relationships, which, granted, wasn't too difficult, but she was also brutally honest and fiercely loyal. So he grinned when Amy burst into his bedroom fifteen minutes later, quiet so she didn't wake Rose.

"What can I do for you?" he Scottish accent came through and she grinned, sliding next to him on the bed and laying her head on his chest. He explained the situation without much emotion, but was slightly offended and a tad defensive when she laughed, "John, how thick are you?"

He looked genuinely puzzled and Amy took pity on him, "Clara fancies you, idiot."

"What?"

"Yes. You really should be better friends with Cas. Sometimes its frightening how similar the two of you are."

"You're sure?"

"Trust me, I'm right," Amy jumped up and spun around, "By the way, the new kid Balt is so hot. I swear if I wasn't so in love with Rory..." she chattered on about the new kid in her PE class and John watched with a smile, only half listening. The rest of the week was a blur as he thought about what Amy had said.

Everything was normal until homecoming. Well, not exactly normal. John and Clara met once or twice a week to work on their project, but barely said a word to each other outside of that. Amy chided John multiple times, telling him he needed to figure out what he wanted, but Rory would pull her away and simply give him a supportive pat on the shoulder. Despite himself, he was slowly becoming friends with River. He had tried desperately to avoid her after the Clara incident, but her persistence wore him down until he didn't care anymore.

It had long been decided that he would go to the dance with River – strictly as friends, he had made that clear – and they'd go to dinner with Amy, Rory, Dean, and Cas. Dean and Cas wouldn't be going as a couple per se, but neither of them had made much of an effort to find another date.

One crisp Friday in October, Amy and River dragged the boys into town to get their clothes for the dance. It was a nightmare, especially for Dean and Cas who already had their suits and didn't have any girls to shop for. John was hopelessly bored. Thankfully, Amy thought to invite Jack, who was thoroughly entertaining at these kinds of events. Unfortunately, he had dragged Dean and Cas over to the men's side and John and Rory were stuck surrounded by poofy dresses. Rory dug himself out from underneath some fluffy yellow thing and John raised his eyebrows, "I think that's your color, mate."

"Fuck off."

Amy and River were ignoring them, standing in front of the mirrors, hopelessly scrutinizing every detail of these particular dresses. That was when he saw her. Clara was standing on the other end of the long row of dressing rooms. She looked beautiful. The dress she had on simple – deep blue and straight down, no poofy skirt or sequins. There was a small slit that one of Clara's small legs stuck out of, trying on a pair of tall black heels. Another girl squealed and John recognized Ruby's voice, "Clara, you look gorgeous! Balt is going to love you!" Clara gathered her hair in her hand and pinned it up, smiling slightly at her friend.

When Ruby got up to find more dresses, John walked over. River and Amy were still going on about dresses and didn't even realize he had left, but Rory watched him. Hell, it was more entertaining that dress shopping. "Hey Clara."

"Oh. Hey John."

He smiled at her and Clara felt herself glowing. John looked to his feet, blushing, "You, uh, you look beautiful."

Clara blushed too and her olive face turned crimson, "Thanks."

They stared at each other for minutes, unaware of Ruby or Rory's watchful eyes. "John!" River called, "Come back, I need your opinion!"

He yelled back an okay, but his eyes never left Clara's. He winked at her and spun around, heading back to their friends. She found herself spinning in the mirror, smiling like an idiot until Ruby coughed and brought her back to the real world. Clara bought the blue dress because John thought she looked beautiful and for once in her life, Clara felt it too. She always felt beautiful when he looked at her and oh no she liked him.

She had always known there was something there, ever since that day when he drover her home, but she had never thought about it. Ignored the betrayed feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw him with River. Avoided looking at him when they worked on the project because she thought she might get lost in his calm and focused eyes. And most of all, she had never let herself be alone with him because she felt vulnerable. But she never labeled it. Until now. She had a crazy, ridiculous, head over heels crush on him.

Amy very nearly smacked her when she confided about her epiphany, "Clara, you idiot, I think you and John are the only two people that don't realize you like each other. Even River knows, she's just counting on him never realizing it. I love River, I do, but you're better for John. She's always disappearing and you're always there."

Clara stared at Amy, "He likes me?"

"Clara! Are you blind? He's crazy about you and he had been since you started this project. You two just need to suck it up and admit it if for no other reason than to help me win the bet I have with Dean and Cas."

"You, Dean, and Cas…are betting on me and John?" Clara tried to sound angry, but it came out more amused. Amy got up and wandered around Clara's room stopping near Rory, "Well yeah, what else were we supposed to do?"

"I dunno, maybe clue us in since we're obviously the only two that didn't know!" Amy smiled leaning against Rory and went back to her phone as Clara groaned and hugged her pillow.

FROM: Amy  
TO: Dean  
Phase 1 complete. Rory and I got Clara. You and Cas go for John.

FROM: Dean  
TO: Amy  
10-4 captain. Also, Cas wants to know why we're using codes (you don't have to answer that)

FROM: Amy  
TO: Dean  
Tell your boyfriend it's cooler

FROM: Dean  
TO: Amy  
Not my boyfriend

FROM: Amy  
TO: Dean  
Uh huh. And I'm in love with Jack Harkness.

Hoping the idiot picked up on the heavy sarcasm in her last text, Amy shut her phone and said goodnight to her boyfriend as he left before falling asleep on Clara's floor.


	7. Angst, Pain, and Family Dinners

***A/N: Trigger warning for implications of abuse**

Dean looked at his clueless boyfriend (he might as well admit it), informing him that codes were cool and rolling his eyes at Cas's innocent head tilt. He knew he could cut Cas some slack; the poor guy was going to come out to his whole family before homecoming. Including his extremely religious and not so tolerant eldest brother. The guy was terrified just thinking about it, and Dean really couldn't blame him. Mike had scared the crap out of them since they met and he couldn't imagine having a secret that he knew would piss Michael off. But in a way, he could, because it was his secret as well as Cas's. Dean had to tell his family as well. It was going to be a long week.

The next day was Saturday, and they still had a week until Halloween and the big dance. Cas and Dean had decided to tell Dean's family first and Cas had spent the entire morning since Dean called at 5:00AM convincing him that his family would be okay and he could get through the dinner. When he told Bobby and Ellen that Cas was coming over, he failed to mention that this visit had a purpose and they probably wouldn't be allowed to have the sleepovers they used to. They made a point not to text any of their friends – Dean even turned off his phone when Jack made it his mission to send him once text every minute. Dean regretted telling Jack about their plans, mainly because Cas had punched him hard in the shoulder as soon as he started getting the texts too.

The dinner table was especially tense for a typical Saturday evening, and finally Bobby couldn't take it. He turned to Dean, "Okay son, what's going on with you tonight?"

Dean's face turned white and Cas was genuinely concerned that his boyfriend would faint. They hadn't expected to do it this early. Bobby actually looked worried when Dean tried sputtering out words and looked to Cas with a confused expression that Cas could read. Even Sam dropped his fork to gaze worriedly at his older brother. "Come on Dean," Ellen chimed in, "Get it out."

"Are you okay?" Jo asked hesitantly. Dean looked at his little sister, "Uh, yeah. I'm good. Awesome."

"Damn it, don't lie ya idjit."

Dean fidgeted, realizing he wasn't going to get out of this until he told, which would be easiest if he was looking at Sammy and Jo, so he turned to face their end of the table. He felt Cas's hand reach for his between their seats and he grasped it, squeezing hard.

His eyes locked on Jo's and she gave him a gentle smile and encouraging nod. "Ok well here goes. I'm…. bisexual. And, uh, Cas is, uh, my boyfriend."

He took a deep breath and glanced around the table, beginning to tear up. Everyone was silent except Ellen, "Well it is about damn time you pulled your head out of your ass and admitted it."

Bobby glanced at her and chuckled, "You knew too?"

Cas laughed out loud at Dean's face, which had turned all kinds of red, "You ALL knew? You could've told me!"

"Like you would've listened you moron," Bobby snorted.

"Seriously Dean," Sam said, "did you really think we'd care?"

Dean went back to his food, "You all can bite me."

"I think that's Cas's job," Jo giggled and her parents glared at her as both Dean and Cas turned bright red and looked at the table, much to Sam's amusement.

Dean said goodbye to Cas a few hours later, "So you're telling your family next Friday?"

"Yeah. I wish you could be there."

"Look man, I want to, but Sam has some stupid smart person thing that I gotta drive him to."

"Hey, I understand," Cas leaned up to kiss him, "it's gonna be okay." He seemed like he was trying to convince himself rather than Dean.

The next week at school Dean and Cas didn't try to hide their relationship and walked in holding hands. Thanks to Gabe, the news spread like wildfire. The new couple endured relentless teasing, primarily from Amy who got twenty bucks from Jack because she fucking called it. "Okay Pond! Geez here," Jack reluctantly forked over money during lunch as Amy gave him one more punch before smiling at Rory, proud of herself. Dean nearly choked on his water when he saw the scared look on Rory's face and Cas had to suppress a laugh and he patted his boyfriend's back.

John smiled half heartedly as he gazed across the café at Clara. She and Ruby had started sitting with the new kid, Balthazar, and some of his friends at a different table. As much as John hated to admit it, Balthazar was a pretty funny guy. He had become fast friends with both Jack and Gabe and the trio was immediately separated in every class they had together. Balthazar's accent reminded John of home and the guy was so charismatic he couldn't help but like him, even if he was sort of dating Clara.

He turned his attention back to River who was directing her usual innuendos toward Dean and Cas. John laughed out loud, but he also felt bad for the pair; they both looked like they wanted to crawl into a hole. When Friday rolled around, Dean was absent with Sammy and Cas was visibly terrified from the moment he walked into school. He was pale and wouldn't eat anything no matter how much John tried to convince him it would help. Poor Cas just looked like he was going to faint at any moment.

"Cassie, buddy, you need to take a chill pill," Gabe criticized his brother. They were driving home from school and Cas had already jumped three times at car horns. "Seriously what's going on with you man?"

"Gabe I'm gay," he said looking at his brother with fear in his eyes.

"Yeah dude, I know. Who do you think told half the school you and Dean-O were a thing? Besides, I've known for a while," Gabe stopped Cas from cutting him off, "We're twins dumbass, of course I knew. Plus, subtle has never been your specialty."

"Do Mike or Luke know?"

"No I'm pretty sure I only knew because we've shared a room since we were babies. Like it or not, we're pretty good friends Cas. I'm pretty sure you know things about me too."

Cas was shocked. He thought Gabe would give him hell. Of course, telling their entire grade - no, _school_ - about his relationship probably counted as hell.

As if Gabe could read his thoughts, he stopped the car and turned to his brother, eyes unusually gentle, "This isn't something I'm gonna give you too much hell over. I know it's hard and as much of a jackass as I can be I really do care about you."

"Thanks, Gabe," Cas felt a tear escape his eyes and quickly wiped it off his cheek. THAT was something Gabe would tease him for. He prayed that their older brothers would be as cool about it as Gabe was. Probably not. Gabe had been an unexpected surprise; he doubted he'd be so lucky two more times.

"Luke will be cool."

"Seriously Gabe? Can you stop with whatever mind reading twin crap you have going on?" Gabe just snickered and focused on the road again.

At six o'clock, Gabe waltzed into the bedroom he shared with Cas only to find his brother trembling on his bed. Cas saw Gabe sigh, taking pity on him, "Luke said to get you ready for dinner. Michael will be home soon."

When Cas didn't make any effort to move, Gabe grabbed his brother and led him downstairs. Luke raised his eyebrows at his younger brothers' new camaraderie, "Okay boys, since when have you started being nice to each other? Last time I checked, Gabe thought Cas was too quiet and nerdy and Cassie, you said Gabe was – and I quote – an assbutt. What changed?"

"Well Cas is gay," Gabe blurted and Cas slapped him hard, feeling betrayed.

Luke laughed. Cas looked up reluctantly, tears threatening to spill over, but was surprised to see his brother's usually devilish eyes filled with kindness and support, "Cassie, I don't care one way or the other –"

"He's dating Dean."

"Damn it Gabe!" Luke pulled a $10 out of his wallet and passed it to Gabriel, noticing Cas's look, "We bet on _Dean_ being gay. This bet's been going on for, like, five years now? Anyways, I don't care. Why are you so stressed?"

"I have to tell Mike. Homecoming is tomorrow and I want to go with Dean."

"Oh," even Luke didn't know what to do when it came to their eldest brother, "Do you want me to tell him?"

"No, it's something I need to do."

Luke knew Michael meant well, but the two had never gotten along. Cas spent the entirety of dinner pushing his food around on his plate and dodging Mike's suspicious glances. When all the dishes were cleared, the eldest Novak started getting impatient, "Castiel, what is going on?"

Cas turned white and instantly chickened out, "Nothing."

Gabe kicked him under the table. Hard. Cas's head snapped up, eyes flashing in pain, and his twin was glaring at him. He sighed, there was no obvious way to escape it, "The Homecoming dance is tomorrow night and I have a date."

"That's excellent, Castiel!" Michael sounded genuinely excited, "Is she going to come over before the dance?"

"Yes, but…uh…"

"What Cas?"

"It's Dean?"

"What?"

"It's Dean, you know, my best friend next door?"

"I don't understand, Castiel."

"We're kinda together. I'm kind of…gay?"

The house was so quiet Cas could hear _Gabe_ breathing. "Castiel can I see you in my room?" Tears sprung to Cas's eyes and he let them fall as he followed his brother upstairs, leaving Anna to question Luke and Gabe.

Around midnight, Cas texted Dean.

FROM: Cas  
TO: Dean  
I will not be attending the dance tomorrow and we can't see each other anymore. I'm sorry, Dean.

FROM: Dean  
TO: Cas  
WHAT? Cas what's going on? I'm home now, want me to come over? Did something happen with your brothers?

Cas didn't respond, sobbing into his pillow instead, and seconds later his phone buzzed twice more.

FROM: Dean  
TO: Cas  
Cas?

FROM: Dean  
TO: Cas  
Please tell me what's happening…

Cas started crying harder until his phone buzzed a final time.

FROM: Dean  
TO: Cas  
Fine. I guess I'll see you around.

With a pained scream, Cas threw his phone across the room and fell back on his bed as the small device hit the wall and shattered. Pain flashed through his body and he cried even harder. Gabe hadn't seen his brother since dinner since Luke had made him stay downstairs even after Mike stormed out, but when he heard how much pain was contained in the scream he fought past Luke and hurried up to their room, pulling Cas into a tight hug before seeing his brother covered in blood and now unconscious, "LUKE!"


	8. Where do we go from here?

***A/N: Trigger warning for very definitely implied abuse**

Dean ignored every text and call from his friends the next day, eventually just turning his phone off and sneaking alcohol into his room. Around four, Sam got pissed because they had all switched to calling and texting the younger Winchester asking where Dean was when they should be getting ready for the dance. By six, Sam was dressed and leaving with Bobby and Jo to pick up Jess and Dean was still ignoring everyone and slowly getting drunk. And at eight, his door was kicked down and John and Amy burst into his room in full homecoming garb, "Dean? Where the fuck have you been?"

"Here," Dean called weakly from under his blanket.

Amy got angry, "Dean! You need to answer your fucking phone. Cas has been in the hospital since last night. We just found out and tried calling your lazy ass so you could go with us!"

Dean jumped up so fast he got dizzy and fell back on his bed. Amy and John rushed to his sides as he choked out his question, "Why?"

His tear-filled eyes looked at his friends through his eyelashes. Amy cried and tried to ignore the question, but Dean grabbed John's arm, "WHY? Why is he in the hospital?"

"Dean, just come with us. Please."

They got out to John's car and Dean was surprised to see Clara behind the wheel, tears in her eyes as she looked at her phone, "River texted from the hospital." She jumped out of the car and hugged John close until he could coax her back in the car and over to the passenger seat.

Dean remained fairly calm in the car, taking deep breaths, but had worked himself into hysterics by the time they pulled into the hospital parking lot. Dean jumped out before the car was stopped and John rushed to park so he and the two girls could catch up to their frantic friend. It wasn't difficult since Dean didn't know where he was going. They sent him in the right direction before going to find coffee and leave so they could get out of their dance clothes. Dean couldn't hold his tears back anymore. He sprinted down the hallway, only stopping when he ran into a man, thankfully, someone he knew.

"Easy Tiger," Luke whispered as he grabbed the boy and held him close.

Dean pulled away and punched Cas's brother straight in the eye, finally letting go of some emotion, "What happened, Luke?"

"Michael didn't take it well…"

"Where were you?" Dean was furious, "Where were you and Gabe? You should've protected him! You should've – oh god…" Dean broke down sobbing and Luke quietly pulled him in for a hug, tears streaming down his own face, "I am so sorry, Dean."

"Can I see him?"

"The doctors said only family."

Dean glared at him and Luke knew what he was thinking, _You know damn well I am family._ There was no point in arguing with his brother's best friend – _boyfriend_ - so Luke led him down a few rooms and pulled back a curtain. Dean gasped as he stared at Cas. He had never looked so weak. His lip was split open and his right eye was swollen shut and covered in deep purple and black bruises. One of his arms was casted and held up in a sling. There were IVs and tubes sticking out of Cas and into various beeping machines. Dean was shocked into silence. He dropped into a chair and held Cas's hand; "I should've been there for you…so sorry…"

Dean felt a squeeze around his hand, "S'okay Dean."

Before Dean could say that no, it wasn't fucking okay, Cas had fallen asleep again. Dean suddenly felt very tired as well, so he pulled his chair as close to the bed as it would go before laying his head on the bed and falling asleep, Cas's fingers intertwined with his own.

When Dean woke up again it was Sunday morning. Luke was in a chair on the other side of Cas, eating hospital Jell-O and watching some stupid reality show, occasionally glancing back and forth at his still unconscious little brother and Dean. Said brother still had quite a grip on Dean's hand and Dean carefully untangled their hands and stretched his sore fingers. Luke smiled softly, meeting Dean's eyes, "Y'know, you guys are a pretty cute couple. I was hoping you kids would come to your senses."

"Well Cas ended it so I guess you waited for nothing."

"Dean, you can't think he really meant that. His own brother just beat him half to death for being gay. I don't think he was thinking clearly," Luke sighed when Dean looked doubtful, "I'm gonna get us coffees." Luke slipped out before Dean could open his mouth to protest.

"He's right you know," Cas whispered as he reached for Dean's hand again.

"Cas?"

"Is Luke gone?"

"He went to get coffees."

"You don't drink coffee, Dean."

"I know. You should lay back down," Dean protested as Cas attempted to pull himself into a sitting position.

"Dean, I'm fine. Just a little sore and a lot pissed."

They sat in silence for a while until Cas's heart monitor began to beep frantically, "Cas?! What's wrong?"

"Anna. Is she okay? Was she there? Did he hurt her?"

"Relax bro, she's home with Gabe," Luke spoke from the door, "Here Dean, its tea. No coffee, I know." Dean was grateful for the tea and the relieved look that had replaced the fear in Cas's eyes. He looked peaceful for the first time since Dean got to the hospital.

"Have you talked to the doctor, Luke?"

"Yeah. Apparently Michael already turned himself in. They're going to run some final tests and Cas should be out of here in a few hours."

That evening found John working on the midterm project with Clara. In silence. Again. But they were both worried about Cas and it showed.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
How's he doing?

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
Don't know. Haven't seen him since he got home.

Dean glanced out his window and sure enough Cas wasn't in his room.

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
He won't talk to me.

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
Give him time. Tough situation.

FROM: Dean  
TO: John  
I know. How's the project?

FROM: John  
TO: Dean  
Dunno. Clara's still being weird. Oh – gotta go, mate!

John shoved his phone back in his pocket when Clara approached him with her notes.

It was nearly midnight and Dean still hadn't seen or heard from Cas. He was just reaching for his phone when a light flicked on next door. Dean almost tripped over himself as he ran to the window. Gabe was leading an obviously exhausted Cas across their room and tucking him into bed. Dean's heart broke all over again as he watched the affection between the twins, even smiling a bit when Luke carried Anna in to say goodnight. Even after Cas's siblings had all gone downstairs, Dean stayed by his window, content to watch Cas sleep.

FROM: Sammy  
TO: Dean  
If you haven't noticed yet, Cas is home.

Dean's family had been worried about him all day. They had never been particularly fond of Mike and now they were downright furious. For the most part they gave Dean his space, but Sammy was always looking out for his older brother. Dean was thankful for that.

He unplugged his laptop and moved his swivel chair over to the window, so he could watch Cas sleep as he worked on homework. Mercifully, they didn't have a lot to do since it was Homecoming weekend, and Dean had already worked with Gabe to get all of Cas's work done. He saw Gabe walk outside to let their dog, Crowley, in and the elder twin nodded to Dean. Gabe was a pretty alright guy when he stopped being an ass for five minutes. Dean went back to his computer and slowly found himself drifting off to sleep.

He woke suddenly around one to a scream. He was sure it was a nightmare until he heard it again, loud and crisp against the veil of night. Dean jumped up and his neck throbbed in pain as he looked for the source of the unfamiliar sound. He finally glanced through his window into Cas and Gabe's room. Cas was the only current occupant and with the lamp next to his bed, Dean could see him shaking, tears streaming down his cheeks and sweat soaking his body. Dean didn't even hesitate before doing what he'd always done when they were little kids. He climbed through his window and onto the roof, careful not to latch the window behind him. With three small steps he was at the edge of his own roof and easily able to make the three-foot jump to Cas's. He slid up his neighbor's glass pane and slipped inside. Nobody else had come to check on Cas, but Dean knew that the Novaks all slept like babies. He was next to Cas's bed in an instant and his hurt friend calmed down as soon as Dean lay a hand on his cheek. Dean immediately climbed into the bed behind Cas, wrapping his arm around his friend's waist and pulling him close to stop his crying. Cas didn't wake up, but still moved closer into Dean, breathing hard as he held onto his friend like their lives depended on it.

The next morning, Sam was completely ready for school before he realized he hadn't heard a word from Dean. He jogged up to his brother's room ready to yell, but it was empty. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cas's curtains shut.

FROM: Sammy  
TO: Gabe  
I think you might be on wake up duty today.

FROM: Gabe  
TO: Sammy  
You know something I don't? Cuz that hasn't happened since we were ten.

FROM: Sammy  
TO: Gabe  
Dean's not here so I don't know where else he would be.

FROM: Gabe  
TO: Sammy  
I'll check. Hold your horses, Samsquatch.

Gabe had been just about to leave when he had gotten Sam's text. The pair had been used to this behavior when they were kids. Dean or Cas would sneak to the other's house for a sleepover and it would be up to Sam or Gabe to get them up in time to sneak back home before school. It had worked until one day in fourth grade when Dean didn't make the jump and broke his wrist.

Gabe knocked tentatively when he got upstairs, but received no response so he pushed the door opened. Smiling, he took in the sight. Dean was snuggled against a distressed looking Cas, both still sound asleep. Nightmares, Gabe figured. That was how the sleepovers started in the first place – Dean was a lighter sleeper than him and Luke. He pulled the curtains open and met Sam's eyes as he sent a text.

FROM: Gabe  
TO: Sammy  
You were right. I'll cover for Dean at school and Cas is already excused. Grab Dean's hw and I'll give you a ride in.

Gabe watched Sam read over the message before glancing over and nodding at him. He was already ready for school, so he grabbed some breakfast and headed out the door, unlocking his car for Sam. He shot off a text before they left for school.

FROM: Gabe  
TO: Dean  
Good morning, Princess. Don't worry; Sammy and I are covering for you at school. Stay with Cas today and work things out. Luke knows you're there and I got Sasquatch today. Take care of my brother.


	9. Falling into Place

***A/N: Trigger warning for very brief self harm implication**

**Also, I put an update in between two earlier chapters, and I believe it's now chapter 4. Anyways, didn't want you all to miss the edits!**

When Dean finally woke up, Luke had left breakfast for the two on a bench next to the bed and Dean spotted a note written with Luke's flourishing writing.

Dean,

I know Gabe said thanks already, but this is from me. Thank you for being there for Cas. I am so sorry this happened to him, I should've protected him.

Dean rolled his eyes before he continued reading.

Don't roll your eyes at me, Winchester. I know you as well as Cas does. Don't worry about school – I called you in sick and they know the situation with my brother. Just take care of him today, and please work this out. He's gotten through a lot and I won't let this throw him back. Besides, you two are pretty damn adorable.  
-Luke

Dean felt his eyes watering at the outpouring of emotion from Cas's older brothers. He felt Cas shift beside him and shoved the note in his pocket, turning around and laying down to face Cas. The younger boy opened his eyes slowly, "Dean?"

"Good morning, sunshine."

"What are you doing here?"

"You were having a nightmare so I jumped the roofs. I can go if you want me to…"

"No! I mean…stay. Please. I was just surprised. It's been a while, you know, since we've jumped roofs."

Dean smiled at Cas in a poor attempt to hide the sadness in his eyes and lay back down, facing his sleepy friend. Cas checked his phone and frowned, "Apparently Gabe wants us – quote – crazy kids to work our shit out."

"I got the same speech. From Luke too."

"Look Dean, this is my fault. I shouldn't have ended it."

"No Cas. Don't you dare put any of this on you. None of this was your fault, understand? I should've been there for you at dinner, Luke and Gabe should've stuck up for you, and Mike shouldn't have done anything but accepted you. This was everyone's fault _but_ yours. So don't you dare put any of this on yourself."

Dean felt Cas's arm wrap over his shoulder and he realized they were both crying. He scooted closer and buried his head in Cas's chest, "I'm just so happy you're okay."

John sat in English between Clara and River and glared at Cas and Dean's empty seats. He could actually feel the tension surrounding him and while he had expected Cas to be absent, he could really use Dean's assistance. He had tried to get Jack's attention, but the guy had just winked at him and gone back to his novel. John put his head down on the desk in resignation.

Clara was taking Amy's advice and going after John. She sat next to him in English and avoided River's confused gaze. She did feel bad when John got progressively redder throughout class, eventually laying down on his desk and closing his eyes. She tossed a note over onto his desk.

J-  
Your place after school. Good idea for project.  
-C

She went back to her book and was surprised when a note landed on her desk a few minutes later.

C-  
Sounds good. Meet me at my car at 4.  
-J

Clara smiled at him and he winked back, blushing slightly before burying his nose in the book again.

When the final bell rang, Clara hurried to her locker, anxious to grab her books and get to John's car. What she wasn't expecting was River to be right there when she closed her locker, "Clara we need to talk."

Clara reluctantly followed her friend into the bathroom, ignoring John's look from where he stood with Jack.

"Clara, Amy explained everything to me," she saw Clara's eyes widen in fear, "I'm not mad! John and I aren't together; I think you guys will be great. I can help set you up if you want."

"You mean you aren't…mad?"

"Of course not! You and I are friends and I won't let a guy come between that. Besides, do you realize how long it's been since you looked at anyone the way you look at John?"

Clara blushed and River smiled knowingly. She was going to need to talk to Jack about setting John and Clara help seeing as the two supposedly leading this plan had stayed home.

John ignored Jack as he watched Clara follow River into the women's bathroom. Nothing good could possibly come of this. "Hey John. Helloooo," Jack was waving a hand in his face when John turned back, "What?"

"Whoa! No need to be so testy. Dean texted and he wants me to take over his job for now."

"Which is…?"

"Making you realize you like Clara."

John gaped, "What? C-Clara and I are just friends. Uh, I think River likes me, doesn't she?"

"Oh for heaven's sake, everyone knows you and Clara like each other – even River. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only people that don't know are you and Clara. That's why River's in the bathroom with her. Clara told Amy and Rory she likes you and Dean and Cas were supposed to get to you before all that shit went down."

"So you're all in on it?"

"Yup!" Jack smiled proudly, "Amy and Dean started it all, but the rest of us had to jump in. It's so obvious it's starting to get painful." Jack clutched his hands over his chest overdramatically and fell back against the lockers, attracting a few odd looks from passing students.

"Ok…well, uh, thanks? I guess? I gotta go. Rose will be waiting for me, and, uh, shit Clara's coming over too…thanks mate, I guess I'll see you later."

Jack smiled and even laughed a little watching John turn red and trip over himself as he scurried out to his car. He went over to his locker to gather his books before picking up Dean's and Cas's assignments and heading over to the Novak's place.

Dean and Cas had been talking for hours, and Dean had barely gotten Cas to budge on their relationship. Dean was starting to get frustrated and he hated himself for it. He knew Cas had been through hell and had to be terrified. He was pretty sure he knew what Gabe meant about taking care of his brother – he had seen Cas's hand on his wrist when they first got together, not that Cas had admitted anything. All Dean wanted was to be there for Cas, wanted Cas to trust him and feel safe. Michael had shattered that and Dean didn't know if he could ever get it back, but he was going to go down swinging.

They were getting closer. Cas had opened up to Dean a little more and they both ended up in tears. Now Dean was trying to make Cas feel safe. He had the younger boy's head resting on his chest, stroking his back to try and calm Cas's shaky and uneasy breathing. Their hands were intertwined and Dean smiled. He liked this. It had taken every single one of their friends to drag him out of the closet he didn't even realize he was in and he was happy. Really happy.

When Cas had broken it off, Dean couldn't help but feel completely and totally betrayed. He had used every ounce of courage to be open about his relationship with Cas and that was what it got him. He had shut himself off until his friends had quite literally busted his door in on homecoming night. He was still hesitant; he was scared to try anything with Cas again. Even though Cas had had a legitimate reason to break things off before, Dean was terrified it would happen again. Cas would leave him and walk off after Dean had let his guard down. Dean was terrified, but Cas needed him now and he wasn't going to let his best friend down. He rested his head on Cas and they both fell asleep.

When Jack pulled up that afternoon, the boys were still passed out. Jack pulled both Dean's and Cas's books out of his backseat and instructed David to wait in his car while he took them inside. Luke was on the couch, Anna napping on his lap, "Hey Lucy, guessing Dean's upstairs too?"

"Yeah he jumped over last night. First time since they were ten."

Jack jogged over to the stairs, stopping only to kiss the top of Anna's small head. He winked at Luke, who narrowed his eyes in response, and headed upstairs with a smile. There was no noise coming from the twins' room, so he let himself in. He let out an over exaggerated "Aww" trying to wake the pair up. Cas and Dean were facing each other with Cas wrapped in Dean's arms. Jack thought they looked happy, but woke them up anyway.

Dean was the first to pop up, "Jack?"

"Oh hello, its 4:30 in the afternoon might wanna wake up."

Dean leaned down to Cas and pushed the boy's hair back over his black eye, slowly bringing him out of sleep, "Hey Cas, Jack's here."

"Why…"

"I brought your books. Good to see you too, though, man. You look better."

"Thanks I guess. I just meant, why you over Gabe. No offense, but Gabe actually lives here."

"And our dear Gabriel is currently at the library with River actually doing work for the first time in his life."

Dean laughed out loud, "Someone got Gabe to do work? River must have super powers or something."

"Tell me about it."

Cas groaned, "Jack I know we're friends and all, and I have missed you very much, but I still feel like shit and would like to take another nap with my boyfriend. You can leave the books on my desk." Cas flipped himself back toward Dean dramatically and pulled the blankets up over his head. Jack raised his eyebrows suggestively at Dean who glared at him and motioned for him to set the books down and leave. Jack defensively raised his arms, but didn't protest, setting the books down and leaving the room. Dean waited until he heard Jack clunking down the stairs before he looked down at Cas, "Boyfriend?"

Cas turned white, "I mean, if you want to be again. I know I kinda messed it up before…"

"Of course," Dean leaned down to kiss him gently, "And you didn't screw anything up. Michael did. It is not your fault." He fell asleep with his head on Cas's and was surprised to find himself drifting into sleep once again.


End file.
